Picton, ON, CA
Very windy transit from Kingston to the cute little town of Picton. Last year when staying at Cressy, Will drove over to visit the aviation museum and check out the municipal docks. This year we decided to stay one night and were glad we did.
We left Kingston expecting 15 knots of wind on the nose. Turns out it was more consistently 20 knots with gusts to 35. If we had been out on Lake Ontario it would have been a nasty ride but, thankfully, the route from Kingston to Picton is in a natural channel between the mainland and islands. This kept the waves down to 1 - 2 feet which made it a tolerable ride. We cruised in Picton in wind which presented a little challenge docking, but all-in-all the ride was uneventful.
Picton Harbour Marina has been recently rebuilt with a great 500 foot dock suitable for bigger boats and many smaller slips. Unfortunately, no water or power but that’s not really an issue. It’s nestled right at the closed end of the bay with about a 5-minute walk to the top of the Main Street. Great place to stop.
We walked into town, did some window shopping, got the mandatory scoop of ice cream and enjoyed the day. Our arrival coincided with the last day of Picton Fashion Week (not exactly a fashion Mecca) but we did see some of the local modeling students strutting the cat walk , and really got a kick out of it. Based on the crowd, it was a big event and a fun to see.
The best part of the day was visiting the Naval Marine Archive - The Canadian Collection. We were greeted by a most cheerful and extremely knowledgeable woman named Betty Ann, who walked around with us describing in great detail the ship, submarine and airplane models, the art, the large research archive and more. She was enthralling and had plenty of stories to share. Based on what we observed there was nothing she didn’t know! She showed significant sailing knowledge and when Will asked her if she has sailing experience, she smiled demurely and replied, “Oh, I have some experience.” We think she was keeping secrets and imagine she has done some remarkable things during her lifetime on the water. The Archive had so many books, and some were for sale. Of course we couldn’t get out the door without Will finding a couple he just had to have. Let’s just say, the absolute last thing we need is more books, but it was supporting a great museum, so we justified a few more! If you go to Picton, do not miss the Archive if you have even the slightest interest in maritime or aeronautical history. It was quite impressive.
